


Can We Keep It?

by aretia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 13:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia
Summary: Thace and a reluctant Ulaz adopt a stray pet.





	Can We Keep It?

**Author's Note:**

> For Thulaz Week day 6: family/domestic

It was a cushy assignment. The planet Kasan hosted a Galra information hub and not much else. Very few Galra lived on Kasan, and those that did lived and worked at the hub. Thace and Ulaz didn't draw any suspicious glances when they infiltrated the hub, nor when they disappeared into the night rather than staying in the on-site quarters, and their modest apartment in the dilapidated town was actually quite comfortable. In fact, Thace had protested the assignment, arguing that he deserved more of a challenge, as a relatively new agent who had only been on mundane missions. Ulaz, for his part, was grateful for it, thinking of it as a hard-earned vacation and a treasured opportunity to spend time with Thace. 

The cool night air was a pleasant reprieve from the usual hot weather on Kasan. All the windows of the houses were black, making Ulaz feel like he and Thace were alone in the world. The reason behind it was tragic—when the Galra had invaded, most of the population had evacuated, which was what left the city to decay—but tonight it felt peaceful. A few locals had remained, and the Galra for the most part kept their distance from the community that didn’t have much to offer them, so the streetlights were still maintained and the occasional vehicle could be seen cruising the streets even at this hour. Under the warm yellow glow of the streetlights, holding Thace’s hand, Ulaz felt like this place could be home.

Suddenly, Thace stopped in his tracks. Ulaz was walking a half step in front of him, and he felt Thace's hand pull him back. Thace was frozen, tension running through him and into Ulaz as Thace extended his free hand and pointed in front of him. Ulaz placed his hand on his weapon and prepared to attack, until he followed Thace's gaze to the asphalt, and the lirthex that was hiding underneath a cart there. 

A lirthex was a small feline creature with purple fur, yellow eyes, pointy ears, and a long, whip-like tail with a tufted tip. Galra were descended from felines like the lirthex. They were the image of the Galra, the closest living genetic ancestor, and as such they were popular pets. They went everywhere the Galra went. The adaptable invasive species did as good a job of conquering the local ecosystems on planets as the Galra did of subjugating their civilizations. Except this one didn’t seem so well adapted to its life on the streets, judging by the way it was cowering under the cart. 

From the way Thace reacted, Ulaz had thought they'd been spotted by a Galra guard. He was relieved to realize that Thace was just restricting his movements so as not to startle the creature. Thace slowly lowered himself into a crouch and held out his palm to the lirthex. "Hi, sweetie," he whispered in a soft tone that made Ulaz’s ears perk. “We’re not going to hurt you. We want to help you. Come on out.”

The lirthex sniffed Thace’s hand, and gingerly crept forward into the light. Ulaz was startled by how emaciated it looked, with a hollow stomach and its ribs showing through its short fur. It approached Thace, and headbutted his open palm. Thace ran his hand along its back and the creature padded closer, nuzzling against his knee and mewling.

“Aww, she likes me!” Thace chirped, looking up at Ulaz with a grin.

“It just wants food,” Ulaz said dismissively.

“Then let’s give her some food,” Thace said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a water bottle. He said to the lirthex, “I don’t have any food, sorry. This will have to do for now.” He poured some water into the cap and placed it on the ground in front of the lirthex’s face, and it leaned down and lapped up the water eagerly. 

Ulaz dragged his hand over his forehead. “We don’t have time for this,” Ulaz hissed. “This city has a curfew.” 

“Why don’t we take her home, then?” Thace suggested innocently. 

“Wh-what? Take her-?!” Ulaz sputtered. “No. Its behavior is domesticated. It obviously belongs to someone.”

“Domesticated, yes,” Thace conceded. “But I’d like to have a word with the owner if she belongs to someone and she looks like this. This poor creature was abandoned and doesn’t know how to fend for herself.” He stared at Ulaz with pleading eyes. “It’ll just be for while we’re here. Maybe we can get her adopted.”

“You’re going to get attached to it,” Ulaz said, and Thace didn’t even try to argue. He just drooped his ears and cast his eyes to the ground in surrender as Ulaz continued, “You think Kolivan is going to let you bring a lirthex back to base?”

“Kolivan won’t have to know a thing about it. Besides,” he said, squishing the lirthex’s cheeks with his hands and flashing a toothy smile, “who could resist a face like this?”

Ulaz could resist the lirthex’s charms, but not Thace’s. “I—I have allergies!” he stammered as a last ditch attempt to dissuade Thace, but he knew he’d lost the battle. 

“Your medicine works, right?” 

“It works in the short term. I’m still going to get a headache if I have to share a room with that.”

“That? Ulaz—have some empathy,” Thace quavered. He lifted the lirthex in his arms and cradled its head against his chest. Their twin stares bored into Ulaz, glowing yellow eyes welling with desperation.

Ulaz sighed. “Fine. But I’m not sharing a bed with it.”

The wide smile spread across Thace’s face again. “Thank you, Ulaz!” He then turned to the lirthex and cooed at it, “You hear that? You’re coming to live with us.” Ulaz rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Thace scooped up the squirming lirthex and stood up. He walked silently beside Ulaz for a few moments. Out of the corner of his eye, Ulaz saw Thace fumbling the lirthex onto his shoulder so that he could hold it with only one arm. Once he freed his other hand, he held it out at his side, a few inches from his hip. Ulaz realized that he was offering to hold his hand again. Thace stared up at him expectantly. Without dropping the stubborn scowl from his face, Ulaz unfolded his arms and slipped his hand into Thace’s, intertwining their fingers.

 

Ulaz unlocked the door to the apartment, since both of Thace’s hands were occupied. As soon as they stepped inside, Thace dropped to his knees and placed the lirthex on the floor. The fidgety creature scampered off, and Ulaz groaned as it jumped onto the couch, digging its claws into the upholstery and rubbing its scent all over it. Meanwhile, Thace whirled around the kitchen, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and a can of meat from the pantry. In between opening the can and scooping the meat into the bowl, he placed something in Ulaz’s hand. Ulaz’s allergy medication. Ulaz opened the bottle and took a pill, a brief smile crossing his face at Thace’s consideration. 

Thace picked up the bowl and called out, “Sedri! Time for dinner!” The lirthex dashed into the kitchen. 

“You named it after your sister?” Ulaz queried.

“Yeah,” Thace said, bending down to place the bowl in front of her. “She’s a lot like her. A tough spirit. I think they’d get along well, so I hope they get to meet someday.”

Ulaz nodded quietly. He knew Thace missed his sister. What was supposed to be a routine solo mission for the Blade had turned into two years and counting with no word from her. He figured that naming the lirthex after her was Thace’s way of keeping faith that she would come back someday, that she was still with him somehow. 

Thace kneeled on the floor and pet Sedri’s back while she devoured the canned meat. Ulaz hadn’t been around too many lirthexes in his life, but he knew as a general rule that they didn’t like to be touched while eating. Ulaz marveled at the creature and the connection Thace seemed to have with her. The trust between them defied instinct. 

 

Ulaz sat down on the couch with his arm over the back. Once he finished feeding Sedri, Thace carried the lirthex to the couch and settled in next to Ulaz, leaning against his side and resting his head on Ulaz’s collarbone. Ulaz tucked his arm around Thace's shoulders. Sedri sat in Thace's lap, laying her head against his stomach and purring. Thace stroked her fur and purred back. 

Ulaz admired the way Thace’s eyes softened as he smiled down at the creature. He was embarrassed to admit to himself that he was jealous of an animal; that look used to be reserved only for him. That was why he’d been reluctant to adopt the lirthex, he realized. But he couldn’t suppress Thace’s caring heart even if he wanted to.

Thace ran his claws through the tufts of fur on the sides of Sedri’s face, and she invited the touch by pressing her face into his hand, something that almost resembled a smile curling on her lips. 

Lirthexes, being genetically close to Galra, had the same prototypical facial expressions, and Galra could easily recognize them. That was part of what some Galra liked about them, the ability to project emotions onto them. Ulaz had always thought such anthropomorphism to be foolish, but when he looked into Sedri’s eyes, he knew exactly what she was feeling. That was the face of a creature that had been broken, that never had anyone to stand up for her, being taken care of for the first time in her life. 

Ulaz had grown up with strict parents who insisted on obedience, and who offered him the Galra military as the only option to get away from them. That was how he got recruited to the Blade of Marmora and changed his life, but it wasn’t the Blade that had given him hope. It was Thace. Whenever Thace listened to his scientific ramblings or told him to get some rest when he overworked himself, Ulaz gave him that same grateful smile that he now saw reflected in Sedri. Thace had given that to both of them. Ulaz had more in common with the lirthex than he wanted to admit. 

“Thanks for letting me keep her,” Thace said, interrupting Ulaz’s thoughts.

“Too cute to resist,” Ulaz muttered.

“Hm? Yeah, she is, isn’t she,” Thace mused, still lost in petting Sedri’s soft fur.

“I meant you.”

Thace chuckled. “You’re such a sap.” He turned his neck to look at Ulaz, and saw the glint of a tear in the corner of his eye. “Ulaz? Are you okay?”

Ulaz self-consciously wiped his eyes. “Allergies,” he lied. 

Thace hummed with concern. “The medicine didn’t work?”

“It… it just takes a little while,” Ulaz said. He nuzzled his cheek on top of Thace’s soft headfur so that Thace couldn’t see his expression. 

Tentatively, he reached out his free hand to pet Sedri on the cheek the way Thace did. She hissed and snapped at his fingers, lashing out with a paw, and Ulaz recoiled.

“Rude!” Thace scolded her, although the way he kept softly scratching her ears was inconsistent with his tone. “I think she remembers that you didn’t want to take her home at first.”

“Well, I may have to change my mind again if she keeps acting like that,” Ulaz said.

Thace looked up at him in horror. “You don’t mean that, do you?”

Ulaz wrapped his arms tighter around Thace’s shoulders, holding him close. “Of course not.”


End file.
